Winning Isn’t Everything

WESTBOROUGH – Losing in a championship finals game is heartbreaking.

Roger Anderson, the head coach of the runner-up Westborough High School volleyball team felt that pain firsthand. The Rangers were so close. They even led in the Division 2 state championship game after the first set 1-0 against third ranked Hopkinton.

The Rangers were the top-seeded team. They were undefeated with a 21-0 record entering the match, but the Hillers were no slouch. They were also undefeated with a 24-0 record and Westborough found out Hopkinton was not about to quit.

“It was two undefeated teams and I think both teams played outstanding defense that day,” Anderson said.

The next three sets could have gone either way, but Hopkinton found a way to win the next two sets, 25-23 and 28-26. The margin of victory was razor thin.

“If you look at the total points scored, it was exactly the same for both teams,” Anderson said. “It really was just a one percent difference. And I think we had our opportunities, but we didn’t quite execute. And they had their opportunities, but they did. I thought their libero, Sam Berenson, played exceptionally well and they just executed a hair better at the end of each set then we did.”

Westborough did play hard and never gave up. The Rangers even took a 17-12 lead in the fourth set sparked by two Christine Li aces. But the Hillers stormed

Christine Li

back to take the game-clinching set 26-24 to win the title.

“Yeah, that was tough,” Anderson said. “Because, you know, it’s one thing when you go in and you’re clearly outmatched and you play really hard and you don’t win, or vice versa, you just go in and you just beat the other team in three. But we really believed we were gonna win this match until the very last point ended … It was that close all the way through. When two great teams step into an arena, in this case both undefeated, one of them isn’t going to be at the end of the match.”

The Rangers’ only loss of the season comes in the most important game of the year. After the game, Anderson had an important message for his team. “It doesn’t change how much I love them and it doesn’t change how hard we worked all year,” he said. “It was not the outcome we wanted, and you know the younger players need to sort of wrestle with that and figure out how they can use that to motivate them to get better next year. And for the seniors, it doesn’t change the footprint that they leave. They set a standard of excellence. That’s what we did all year. We just didn’t quite get it done in that match. We will work to be better at getting it done in the future.”

Coach Anderson

Despite the loss, Anderson said his team has a lot to be proud of this season. Following the loss, he spent the whole next day reflecting on what his team did accomplish. “About twenty-four hours after the match, I got incredibly proud of this team,” he said. “They won 21 matches this year. They came back in the state semifinals from being down 24-20 in the third game to close it out and win 26-24. That took a ton of character.”

Anderson was pleased his team was able to finally beat longtime rival Barnstable for the first time in 15 years. “That was a milestone for us. It felt like we played a really tough schedule and managed to do very, very well.”

Westborough did play with character. They played together and they played for each other. Anderson said this was the most important quality of his team. “I think the hallmark thing that defined this particular group was the way they took care of each other,” he said. “This was a team that really was interested in each other and played for each other and played with great intention both in practice and in matches. I think those are kind of the two key defining characteristics of this team.”

Westborough’s four seniors, Grace Burns, Melissa Kuang, Christine Li, and McKenna Thrush, are sure to leave an enduring mark on the winning culture of the team. During the last two seasons, with Burns, Kuang, Li, and McKenna as the Rangers’ leaders, Westborough posted a 32-1 record. “The footprint they leave on our program is really large,” Anderson said. “I think all four of them cared about their teammates. All four of them showed up every day, whether they felt great or not and gave an effort that was worthy of their team. And each of them grew all four years they were with us, for sure … Their impact will continue well beyond their actual physical presence on the court, and that’s what you hope for, right? They planted seeds that will grow long after they’re gone.”

Westborough’s senior leadership from left to right are Melissa Kuang, Christine Li, Grace Burns, and Makenna Thrush. Photo by Kevin Paul Saleeba

Burns, as a captain, brought the team a daily-dose of determination at practice and in games. “She brought tremendous effort and intention in terms of how she played,” Anderson said. “She connected with other kids. She looked out for her teammates every single day.”

Thrush, the other team captain, was an outstanding outside hitter. “She worked relentlessly to improve her game,” Anderson said. “She also brought some traditions to our team and how we celebrate each other that were really great.”

Kuang, as the team’s libero, was the team’s backbone in the back row. “She just improved unbelievably in the past two season. She was injured and wasn’t able to play most of last year and then came back this year and really played dominantly in big moments,” he said.

Anderson called Li a versatile player and a “force” for the Rangers as a middle hitter. “She’s great at the net, but the thing that most teams would remember about her is how tough her serve was and she ended a number of matches for us on her serve. She really was a great force there.”

Anderson said several underclassmen also contributed to the success of the team this season. There are even some potential leaders ready to step in and fill any

Quinn Anderson

possible void left by the graduating seniors, including all-state players like junior Shannon Clark and sophomore Quinn Anderson. Clark is the team’s setter. “She’s the quarterback of our offense. She touches the ball pretty much every time it’s on our side of the court and so her coming back is huge for us.” Quinn Anderson is a “dominant” player who led the team in both kills and digs.

“There’s a group of girls coming back who are hungry,” said Coach Anderson. “We’re gonna learn a lot from that championship loss and we’re going to play really, really hard next year and really smart. We’ll work relentlessly to be better.”

Kate Capello

Sophomore defender Addison Moore, who played in the back row in three rotations for the Rangers could be filling Kuang’s libero position next season. Waiting in the wings for more playing time next year are juniors Kate Capello and Julia Goretti and sophomores Maggie Cardin, and Annabelle Semeter. “If they go to work between now and next season,” Anderson said. “They have the opportunity to make us a great team … We’re gonna come back and reload and rebuild and look to be very competitive again.”

Anderson said his assistant coaches, Janice Spofford, who coaches serving and offense, and Steve Aronson, who manages passing and defense, deserve some recognition for the team’s success. Former assistant, Kiely Murray also returned to the team as a sports psychology consultant to help with the team’s mental approach to games. “I have the best assistants anywhere,” he said.

The most tangible aspect of Westborough’s culture of winning can be boiled down to Coach Anderson’s statement, “there’s a collective commitment.” It is a big reason why, since Anderson took over the program in 1999, the Rangers have won twelve Midland Wachusett League Conference A titles, six district titles, and two state titles over the course of two decades.

“It goes back to this intentionality, right?” Anderson said. “They are really committed to being intentional on every touch of every play and every practice and every match. And that sounds like, well of course every team, but no, very few teams do. So, when there’s a collective commitment like that and it comes from us and them, I think that’s when they can be great and they showed us that this year.”